***First, I need to apologise as this review should have been posted on 20th December as it was part of a blog tour, but a) that was my birthday and b) i was sick and it completely slipped my mind with christmas etc… so, better late than never, right?***

Summary:

In this thrilling and sexy follow-up to Sempre, two young lovers struggle to keep their relationship intact after they become deeply enmeshed in the dangerous mafia-run crime ring they once tried to overthrow.

Haven Antonelli and Carmine DeMarco have been through a lot. Haven was taken in by Carmine’s father, and with his family’s help, she escaped a gruesome fate. However, saving Haven from the dark intentions of a mafia family cost Carmine a steep price: he was forced to swear loyalty to them.

Now, still passionately in love, Carmine and Haven must face the fall-out of Carmine’s forced service, as Haven discovers terrifying secrets about the family that enslaved both her and her mother—and why she matters so much in this intricate web of lies.

Review:

The sequel to Sempre leaves a funny taste in your mouth when you finish it. That taste my friends, is despair. Despair that the story is completed.

As mentioned in my review of the 1st book, I was a HUGE fan of the original fanfiction version of this story, and never once felt disappointed by the published version. This fact remains true with this second book.

Once again, the pace is rapid without rushing the reader to keep up as haven and Carmine deal with the changes to their lives, particularly Carmine now being part of La Famiglia. Even though they are parted, we still get the story from both sides, and it’s heartbreaking knowing how much they struggle to be without the other. This is reinfoced with the POVs from both Corrado and Vincent who believe that Haven and Carmine being apart is the best thing all round.

Usually, sequels tend to be a bit lacking, but Redemption never falls flat or losing that special something. Even though I knew the story from the EP days, I still found myself biting my lip in anticipation and fear.

Darhower certainly has an amazing way with words and is definitely an author I will put what I’m doing down to read!